Miami-Dade's Black Commissioners Have Failed the People

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke -- who is a candidate to replace more-boring-than-bread-pudding ex-Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez on May 24 -- calls out Miami-Dade's African-American county commissioners and their consultants for selling out.

Miami-Dade's black county commissioners do nothing for the communities they represent. Audrey Edmonson, Barbara Jordan, and Dennis Moss think they're like gods and can't be removed from office. You see them only when the television cameras are on. They denounce criminals killing people or police killing unarmed blacks, and then return to their offices downtown.

Edmonson, Jordan et al. can't even provide the most basic services for Overtown, Liberty City, Opa-locka, Richmond Heights, and the other predominantly African-American neighborhoods. The streets are dirty and plagued by never-ending violent crime and poverty. In some places, such as NW 15th Avenue, there are no sidewalks. And it has been like that since I was a kid.

Instead, the African-American county commissioners are beholden to black political consultants/business entrepreneurs such as Dewey Knight III and others. Those strategists become involved in political campaigns to make connections so they can earn big cash lobbying for companies that want to do business with the county. They promise to deliver the black vote in exchange for a place at the table.

They complain blacks aren't getting a fair share, but only to get their cut.They win contracts for companies; then the commissioners don't have the decency to put black people to work on county projects. I will stop that shit. It is not just about giving an African-American 5 percent of the business. I'll require that African-Americans represent a large percentage of minority ventures' work forces. The first question I'll ask the black political consultants who double as minority partners is, "How many people are you going to put to work, chump?"

In the past 25 years, only one incumbent running for commission has been defeated. That was Dorrin Rolle, an African-American who had mismanaged millions of dollars for a nonprofit. Those other commissioners, though, win because of the huge amounts of money they raise and their corrupt consultants. After I'm elected mayor, I will campaign against those people.

And voters should support the term limits that will be on the ballot May 24.Then we can chase Audrey, Dennis, and Barbara from politics for good.